Bejeweled
Interview with Carla Labat of Camille K
Atelier. A word of French origin meaning an artist's or designer's studio or workroom. Who better to dwell in an atelier but a master artisan. If it were an artisan who hand-forges magnificent necklaces and extravagant jewelry from 18th century elements, and employs words such as passementerie and jabot on a daily basis, they would certainly have something interesting to offer the world. With pieces resembling a cross between 18th century haute couture and innovative antique modernesque fashion. Carla Labat of Camille K jewelry doesn't disappoint. Carla was born and raised in California, but is inspired by the brilliant artisans and rich history of France.
Copeland: I understand that you love France. Have you ever thought about acquiring dual citizenship?
Carla Labat: I am a dual citizen since 1995. It was quite a process to get it. It took me a couple of years to be able to get it through interviews and essays. Its quite an extensive process. Everything has to be done in French and they make sure that you speak French before they give you French citizenship. So , yes I am very proud to be a French citizen- and I am voting and have voted in my second presidential election.
C: Now you're in L.A.
CL: I'm in the San Francisco Bay area. I live in Palo Alto, and our offices are in Mountain View which is just a little bit further south. So we're like 30 minutes from San Francisco.
C: California is great for the arts.
CL: Absolutely, I grew up in the L.A. area, so yeah, I kind of have a history all over the state. I danced down there when I was younger. Its a great, open-minded, wonderful state.
C: Yeah it is. I see from your website and the pieces that you have, that you like to explain a lot about the origin of pieces. Do you enjoy history?
CL: Yeah, absolutely. I love history. I would have never been a history major or anything, but I think that everything in life is interesting and more interesting when you understand the background, I think people are interesting when you know where they come from. I think its important even individually to understand where one comes from. So when you're looking at the kind of jewelry that we make, there’s a providence to each kind of piece of passementerie.
Some of the things I buy are from certain special vendors who have their own family history- like hundreds of years- a hundred years of making couture passementerie for haute couture houses in France so- you know... to me it makes wearing a piece of jewelry so much more special when you understand where things come from. I mean, when I meet people, I would much rather know where they come from and what their family backgrounds are rather than right up front 'what do you do' I think its more interesting.
C: Yeah I agree. History molds the future, it molds how we think.
CL: Absolutely. And things move so fast these days you know, I don't know in younger generations where the sense of history will come. But you know, I think that its very important and so many things are influenced from our past. And its interesting to take old pieces and be able to translate them into a modern contemporary way of wearing them.
C: What are some of your favorite moments in history- does that affect your jewelry line?
CL: Yeah absolutely, Well I'm a big 18th century European history person. I love that time period. Everything about it draws me to it. The architecture. The way of thinking. Just the whole emphasis on beauty and aesthetic.
Actually, when you talk about history, I probably would like segue into a corner of like costume history. I love history of costume. So definitely an 18th century aesthetic. For writing I love the generation of the 1920's- you know I'm of the Hemingway period. I love fashion in the 60's and the whole dance world in the 60's with Rudolph Nureyev. There was just a glamour. There was a different kind of glamour at that time. Yeah, so those are kind of my favorite time periods. Definitely 18th century French. In a heart beat. When I walk through the gardens in Paris- Gardens like the Luxembourg or the Toulliare or those kind of areas. They have all the topiaries- all beautifully trimmed and the pathways and the fountains- I mean- you see everyone wandering around in their contemporary clothing but, you know, if you close your eyes for a minute, you can almost imagine all the corsets and the big skirts with their pannier underneath to make the big hips and you know- the gorgeous brocades and the buckles on the shoes... all of that comes alive for me when I'm in Paris.
Copeland: I understand that you love France. Have you ever thought about acquiring dual citizenship?
Carla Labat: I am a dual citizen since 1995. It was quite a process to get it. It took me a couple of years to be able to get it through interviews and essays. Its quite an extensive process. Everything has to be done in French and they make sure that you speak French before they give you French citizenship. So , yes I am very proud to be a French citizen- and I am voting and have voted in my second presidential election.
C: Now you're in L.A.
CL: I'm in the San Francisco Bay area. I live in Palo Alto, and our offices are in Mountain View which is just a little bit further south. So we're like 30 minutes from San Francisco.
C: California is great for the arts.
CL: Absolutely, I grew up in the L.A. area, so yeah, I kind of have a history all over the state. I danced down there when I was younger. Its a great, open-minded, wonderful state.
C: Yeah it is. I see from your website and the pieces that you have, that you like to explain a lot about the origin of pieces. Do you enjoy history?
CL: Yeah, absolutely. I love history. I would have never been a history major or anything, but I think that everything in life is interesting and more interesting when you understand the background, I think people are interesting when you know where they come from. I think its important even individually to understand where one comes from. So when you're looking at the kind of jewelry that we make, there’s a providence to each kind of piece of passementerie.
Some of the things I buy are from certain special vendors who have their own family history- like hundreds of years- a hundred years of making couture passementerie for haute couture houses in France so- you know... to me it makes wearing a piece of jewelry so much more special when you understand where things come from. I mean, when I meet people, I would much rather know where they come from and what their family backgrounds are rather than right up front 'what do you do' I think its more interesting.
C: Yeah I agree. History molds the future, it molds how we think.
CL: Absolutely. And things move so fast these days you know, I don't know in younger generations where the sense of history will come. But you know, I think that its very important and so many things are influenced from our past. And its interesting to take old pieces and be able to translate them into a modern contemporary way of wearing them.
C: What are some of your favorite moments in history- does that affect your jewelry line?
CL: Yeah absolutely, Well I'm a big 18th century European history person. I love that time period. Everything about it draws me to it. The architecture. The way of thinking. Just the whole emphasis on beauty and aesthetic.
Actually, when you talk about history, I probably would like segue into a corner of like costume history. I love history of costume. So definitely an 18th century aesthetic. For writing I love the generation of the 1920's- you know I'm of the Hemingway period. I love fashion in the 60's and the whole dance world in the 60's with Rudolph Nureyev. There was just a glamour. There was a different kind of glamour at that time. Yeah, so those are kind of my favorite time periods. Definitely 18th century French. In a heart beat. When I walk through the gardens in Paris- Gardens like the Luxembourg or the Toulliare or those kind of areas. They have all the topiaries- all beautifully trimmed and the pathways and the fountains- I mean- you see everyone wandering around in their contemporary clothing but, you know, if you close your eyes for a minute, you can almost imagine all the corsets and the big skirts with their pannier underneath to make the big hips and you know- the gorgeous brocades and the buckles on the shoes... all of that comes alive for me when I'm in Paris.
C: Those are details.
CL: Very much so. C: You seem to me like a very thoughtful designer- someone who loves great design, but who also is a thinker. Is that fairly accurate? CL: I am a thinker. Totally. I'm a very sensitive person. I'm sure most artists are. Life is in the detail for me- absolutely. They say youth is wasted on the young, I'm not so completely sure about that. When I was younger, I knew I was drawn to unusual things. My mom sewed, and so in high school, like if I had a dance to go to, we would get a Vogue pattern and the next thing you know I would be saying, can we change this... can we alter that... can we move this up here... can we do this... change it around... Because whenever I would go shopping, I would never find exactly what my eye was dreaming about. And I think that’s how my whole business got started, because I was trying to make something that my eye wanted and my sense of aesthetic wanted- and I just couldn't find it anywhere. |
"Life is in the detail for me..."
-Carla Labat |
My eye is always looking for the interesting, for the different, but then making sure that whatever I make kind of translates too. We're big on the modern woman you know. Something that can translate so that people can appreciate history, but not from a distance. Like when you say vintage jewelry- it'd be very easy for someone to say 'I'm so not vintage- I'm just so not into that.' And I don't ever want that to happen. I want the origin of a piece to be vintage, but the way I see it in my minds eye can be something that can be worn with jeans and a T-shirt today- no big deal.
C: Camille K is a vintage reproduction diffusion line? What does that mean?
CL: OK, so we have several lines that we developed. You know, I started with couture- which are one-of-a-kind pieces. Those are vintage pieces. There's no reproduction there. We wanted to make our pieces more accessible to people, so we did a line, which we use vintage pieces... vintage materials, but some of them are more modern and not 18th century. Maybe they're 1950s, and maybe we found enough to make 10 of a kind. And so we had that. That was trying to reach more people, because not everybody can necessarily afford a Camille K Couture piece. Then, that became not enough because we had a demand for more pieces, so we just in the last couple of years worked on our diffusion line which is our Camille K collection.
Everything in that collection begins from a real authentic vintage part. Whether its a piece of lace that we cast in zinc, or whether its a vintage French pot metal button that we cast in pewter -and then we put them all the way around a bangle and make a bangle out of it- everything begins from an authentic vintage part. Then we cast it in Los Angeles. Everything that we make is made in the U.S., and we cast it in Los Angeles and they become our Camille K collection line. So they still feel and reflect the vintage original couture pieces of Camille K, but they can be manufactured in series of 25 or 100 or 1000 or whatever. They all come from the same soul, which is our treasures that we find. They're limitless pieces.
C: Camille K is a vintage reproduction diffusion line? What does that mean?
CL: OK, so we have several lines that we developed. You know, I started with couture- which are one-of-a-kind pieces. Those are vintage pieces. There's no reproduction there. We wanted to make our pieces more accessible to people, so we did a line, which we use vintage pieces... vintage materials, but some of them are more modern and not 18th century. Maybe they're 1950s, and maybe we found enough to make 10 of a kind. And so we had that. That was trying to reach more people, because not everybody can necessarily afford a Camille K Couture piece. Then, that became not enough because we had a demand for more pieces, so we just in the last couple of years worked on our diffusion line which is our Camille K collection.
Everything in that collection begins from a real authentic vintage part. Whether its a piece of lace that we cast in zinc, or whether its a vintage French pot metal button that we cast in pewter -and then we put them all the way around a bangle and make a bangle out of it- everything begins from an authentic vintage part. Then we cast it in Los Angeles. Everything that we make is made in the U.S., and we cast it in Los Angeles and they become our Camille K collection line. So they still feel and reflect the vintage original couture pieces of Camille K, but they can be manufactured in series of 25 or 100 or 1000 or whatever. They all come from the same soul, which is our treasures that we find. They're limitless pieces.
"...I was trying to make something that my eye wanted and my sense of aesthetic wanted- and I just couldn't find it anywhere."
-Carla Labat
-Carla Labat
C: I think that timeless is pretty accurate.
CL: I love estate jewelry. I love all those old rose cut stones. If I were making fine jewelry today, I'd be using rose cut stones. I like that old- what I call the blinking- the blinking diamonds, because they're not all shiny shiny. I mean they kind of are- some of them are really vibrant, and other stones are kind of almost grayed out in those rose cut stones. So I try to do that with our pre-production lines. We don't use all crystal stones. We'll blink it out with like jet hematite, or black diamond stones or something where it looks like an estate piece. So we're always looking for ways of making our aesthetic feel like from times past, but very wearable and modern today.
C: Do you ever recreate replicas of pieces that had existed?
CL: You know we have not done that yet. Although right now, we are working on these old Chanel lockets. We cannot copy them. I mean we cannot put them in a mold. So we are recreating those now. They're going to be coming out in our new production line. We're going to be kind of shifting them a little bit. Some of them will be the exact kind of model of what Chanel had done. Then we're doing other ones where we're using them almost as a frame to frame big portrait- I'm really big on portrait jewelry... the Georgian portrait jewelry. So, we're going to do some things like that.
So yes, we're starting to do those kinds of things. To me, being able to do that is really kind of a luxury. We won't make many pieces. Those will be for our Camille K collectors where we do a series of 10 and that's about it. I have some resources in France that allow me to have things that people haven't seen before... or haven't seen in a long time, or they see them in picture books. Like the old Chateaus Lane necklaces or belts where it was kind of like today's charm bracelet. Those kinds of things we're trying to reproduce. So, historical pieces that again stay relevant.
CL: I love estate jewelry. I love all those old rose cut stones. If I were making fine jewelry today, I'd be using rose cut stones. I like that old- what I call the blinking- the blinking diamonds, because they're not all shiny shiny. I mean they kind of are- some of them are really vibrant, and other stones are kind of almost grayed out in those rose cut stones. So I try to do that with our pre-production lines. We don't use all crystal stones. We'll blink it out with like jet hematite, or black diamond stones or something where it looks like an estate piece. So we're always looking for ways of making our aesthetic feel like from times past, but very wearable and modern today.
C: Do you ever recreate replicas of pieces that had existed?
CL: You know we have not done that yet. Although right now, we are working on these old Chanel lockets. We cannot copy them. I mean we cannot put them in a mold. So we are recreating those now. They're going to be coming out in our new production line. We're going to be kind of shifting them a little bit. Some of them will be the exact kind of model of what Chanel had done. Then we're doing other ones where we're using them almost as a frame to frame big portrait- I'm really big on portrait jewelry... the Georgian portrait jewelry. So, we're going to do some things like that.
So yes, we're starting to do those kinds of things. To me, being able to do that is really kind of a luxury. We won't make many pieces. Those will be for our Camille K collectors where we do a series of 10 and that's about it. I have some resources in France that allow me to have things that people haven't seen before... or haven't seen in a long time, or they see them in picture books. Like the old Chateaus Lane necklaces or belts where it was kind of like today's charm bracelet. Those kinds of things we're trying to reproduce. So, historical pieces that again stay relevant.
C: When you create, are you thinking of a period in history, or simply create what you would like to see?
CL: I'm not necessarily thinking of a period in history. If I am inspired by something historical, I'm always thinking of a way to make it modern. Like the jabot for example, on men. I love men's jewelry. In 18th century, even earlier, men's jewelry was often times more ornate than the women's jewelry. So, like the big king's necklaces and things like that. Sometimes I will recreate something like that for a woman where we have the big, two double strands of pearls and then big gems or big things in the middle, or the men's jabot, you know the ruffly thing at the neckline. C: They feel like artistic museum pieces. They stand on their own. They look like pieces that you should wear with a beautiful black dress. Is that kind of accurate? |
"I'm always thinking of a way to make it modern."
-Carla Labat |
Source Image: Nick Saglimbeni
Kendall Jenner wearing Camille K at a photo shoot with Nick Saglimbeni |
CL: Absolutely. You just need a very simple dress, or a very simple top and you just throw that on. It really creates your look. You could probably wear the same black dress to five events, and no one would know it was the same one if you kept changing up the jewelry. In fact, the Museum of Art and Design in New York talked about having us be part of one of their displays. I think we met them in New York at one of our trade shows and they've come back twice to talk to us and they're kind of formulating how they want to work with us.
C: Can you tell before creating a piece that it will look great on the wearer? |
CL: You just know when you hit the nail on the head. I think for anything- when you're cooking, when you're writing- you just have those moments. People talk about like when they experience inspiration for the first time, or they can identify it as time goes along. There are times when I just make something and I don't even know where the heck it comes from. You're so anxious to like finish it, like my hands can't work fast enough to get it done because I just know its going to be amazing when I get it on. So absolutely, and sometimes when I'm making something, I have a private client in mind and I think 'oh my god, this would be so perfect for that person.'
Once in a great while there's something that just never resonates with anybody. Whats fascinating is for example, when I started making some of these big statement piece jewelry designs years ago, I have those early pieces, and at the time nobody bought them. I showed them over and over- nobody bought them, nobody understood it, forget it. I thought OK, well I'll just wear them. And its so funny because now I wear those pieces or we display those pieces and they're the first ones to go. Sometimes I'll recreate something because I just know it didn't work or whatever absolutely, but it is interesting that people grow into the aesthetic or they understand it differently with their own personal evolution or with how fashion evolves and all of sudden they go 'oh my god look at those pieces' like 'oh my gosh why didn't I see that before?' And I'm like well its been here for 5 years!
C: I would say your work has the quality of vintage pieces. At the same time it has the modernness. Do you have a favorite type of wire that you use for making jewelry?
CL: Sometimes you have to connect things. When I'm using like chandelier crystals, a lot of times, the hole drilled doesn't work for modern jump rings and things like that. To drill it, you risk cracking these pieces because they're like rock crystal, and I don't want to crack them... they're expensive, they're beautiful and I don't want to do that. So, a lot of times I have to connect them with wire. A lot of times It'll just be sterling wire. If its a really beautiful piece and I'm asking a certain price, I'll buy sterling wire basically- in different thicknesses so that I can use that. If its a piece that’s a less expensive piece like say for limited edition or the Camille K collection, um, I'll use Beecroft wire which is just a base metal wire in different gauges. So Beecroft is the name of that. And if I'm stringing beads or anything, if I'm putting beads with trim or whatever, I use Softflex. You can knot it, and then you can crump bead it to finish it, but yeah, those are the two that I use. I just don't use a lot of it anymore, I used to, but I don't, I'm doing different things now. But yeah those are the two that I go for.
C: What are some essential techniques to master when making jewelry?
L: Depending on the kind of jewelry you're making. If you want to be a metal-smith, you know- you have to learn how to solder. But um, if you're not and you just want to string beads and stuff like that you need to learn how to string beads and how to finish off the ends properly. So you would have to probably take a bead stringing class. If you got a little more involved, you could do a pearl knotting class. I've used my knotting techniques so much. And that class long ago in pearl knotting was really valuable. That’s a pretty good thing. Probably wire wrapping, learning how to wire wrap so that you can finish off pieces- connect pieces to each other, and lets see what else. Well, I think those are really basic things... wire wrapping, bead stringing, pearl knotting... I think those are really basic things and really important to get started. I mean you could make yourself a little bracelet or a neck piece or whatever with those tools and those techniques. You know what rhinestone paste is right?
C: Actually, no I don't
Once in a great while there's something that just never resonates with anybody. Whats fascinating is for example, when I started making some of these big statement piece jewelry designs years ago, I have those early pieces, and at the time nobody bought them. I showed them over and over- nobody bought them, nobody understood it, forget it. I thought OK, well I'll just wear them. And its so funny because now I wear those pieces or we display those pieces and they're the first ones to go. Sometimes I'll recreate something because I just know it didn't work or whatever absolutely, but it is interesting that people grow into the aesthetic or they understand it differently with their own personal evolution or with how fashion evolves and all of sudden they go 'oh my god look at those pieces' like 'oh my gosh why didn't I see that before?' And I'm like well its been here for 5 years!
C: I would say your work has the quality of vintage pieces. At the same time it has the modernness. Do you have a favorite type of wire that you use for making jewelry?
CL: Sometimes you have to connect things. When I'm using like chandelier crystals, a lot of times, the hole drilled doesn't work for modern jump rings and things like that. To drill it, you risk cracking these pieces because they're like rock crystal, and I don't want to crack them... they're expensive, they're beautiful and I don't want to do that. So, a lot of times I have to connect them with wire. A lot of times It'll just be sterling wire. If its a really beautiful piece and I'm asking a certain price, I'll buy sterling wire basically- in different thicknesses so that I can use that. If its a piece that’s a less expensive piece like say for limited edition or the Camille K collection, um, I'll use Beecroft wire which is just a base metal wire in different gauges. So Beecroft is the name of that. And if I'm stringing beads or anything, if I'm putting beads with trim or whatever, I use Softflex. You can knot it, and then you can crump bead it to finish it, but yeah, those are the two that I use. I just don't use a lot of it anymore, I used to, but I don't, I'm doing different things now. But yeah those are the two that I go for.
C: What are some essential techniques to master when making jewelry?
L: Depending on the kind of jewelry you're making. If you want to be a metal-smith, you know- you have to learn how to solder. But um, if you're not and you just want to string beads and stuff like that you need to learn how to string beads and how to finish off the ends properly. So you would have to probably take a bead stringing class. If you got a little more involved, you could do a pearl knotting class. I've used my knotting techniques so much. And that class long ago in pearl knotting was really valuable. That’s a pretty good thing. Probably wire wrapping, learning how to wire wrap so that you can finish off pieces- connect pieces to each other, and lets see what else. Well, I think those are really basic things... wire wrapping, bead stringing, pearl knotting... I think those are really basic things and really important to get started. I mean you could make yourself a little bracelet or a neck piece or whatever with those tools and those techniques. You know what rhinestone paste is right?
C: Actually, no I don't
CL: So rhinestone paste is simply this incredible quality of crystal that was made in the late 1800s- early 1900s when women were traveling by boat and stuff like that, when women didn't want to wear their real jewelry- their real fine jewelry. So they had their pieces recreated in paste. Like most all the men's 18th century shoe buckles were also made in rhinestone paste. They're exquisite. Its hard to tell the difference between a paste piece and like an old rose cut diamond sometimes, and its getting harder to find those pieces. So I have a collection of paste pieces and cut steel pieces as well, that's getting harder to find that I keep in a drawer that are just like- mind blowing. I think one day I'm going to sell that, but I just can't bring myself to do it, or I haven't thought of a way to present it in a way that makes me proud to sell that piece like that. It has to be done justice when its that beyond special- you know.
If you saw my atelier, I have an old architect's chest that I was given, and I use it. If you open every single drawer, its like a trim or a treasure inspiration drawer. They've been photographed over and over by people because when you open a drawer and you see all these rhinestone buckles and buttons and things, people just get quite blown away. So yeah, I definitely have a collection of things, I could never buy anything for the next- I don't know- 20 years and still keep working with all the stuff I have in my atelier. Its bad, its bad good, its good bad. C: Because of the history involved with it, Europe probably has much more of an appreciation for vintage items like that. CL: It makes sense that you find it there. But there are immigrants- and that’s what my friend finds- these immigrants that came from Europe and they have treasure troves of this stuff of their grandmothers and buttons, and they sell them. |
"I could never buy anything for the next- I don't know- 20 years and still keep working with all the stuff I have in my atelier."
-Carla Labat |
C: What is the best clothing to wear a cuff with?
CL: I wear a cuff pretty much every time I go out of my house. Except for when I'm working, I have no jewelry on except for my watch when I'm working because I need to have everything free. But I wear a cuff with literally everything. I mean it can be the most elaborate rhinestone cuff and I'll have on like you can see I'm just wearing this black long sleeve T-shirt and I'll just throw my cuff on. I mean I can wear it with just a classic button-down shirt. I don't think there are any rules for what to wear a cuff with. You can wear it with a tank top, you can wear it with an evening gown if its the right cuff. Its just whatever your imagination says. I think most of my clients- they've had to be kind of educated over the time as to how to wear these things. On our website we want to put a section on how to wear. You could wear like some crazy Yohji Yamamoto outfit and wear one of our Chanel gold thread cuffs. It really does chic up anything you're wearing. Our cuffs are so easy to wear because they're subtle. Its a detail that can be subtle, so really you can wear it with anything.
C: You don't make cuffs for guys too do you?
CL: I have. There was a guy yesterday at the trunk show in a skirt and he was wearing one of our big crosses. He wasn't wearing a cuff. But anyway, I love men in jewelry. I'm so into that, I love men that wear jewelry. But yeah, we definitely can do cuffs. Cuffs can be worn by anyone.
CL: I wear a cuff pretty much every time I go out of my house. Except for when I'm working, I have no jewelry on except for my watch when I'm working because I need to have everything free. But I wear a cuff with literally everything. I mean it can be the most elaborate rhinestone cuff and I'll have on like you can see I'm just wearing this black long sleeve T-shirt and I'll just throw my cuff on. I mean I can wear it with just a classic button-down shirt. I don't think there are any rules for what to wear a cuff with. You can wear it with a tank top, you can wear it with an evening gown if its the right cuff. Its just whatever your imagination says. I think most of my clients- they've had to be kind of educated over the time as to how to wear these things. On our website we want to put a section on how to wear. You could wear like some crazy Yohji Yamamoto outfit and wear one of our Chanel gold thread cuffs. It really does chic up anything you're wearing. Our cuffs are so easy to wear because they're subtle. Its a detail that can be subtle, so really you can wear it with anything.
C: You don't make cuffs for guys too do you?
CL: I have. There was a guy yesterday at the trunk show in a skirt and he was wearing one of our big crosses. He wasn't wearing a cuff. But anyway, I love men in jewelry. I'm so into that, I love men that wear jewelry. But yeah, we definitely can do cuffs. Cuffs can be worn by anyone.
"I wear a cuff with literally everything." -Carla Labat
C: Things that can not be made for men is a misconception because most fashion was originally designed for men.
CL: Well look at Marc Jacobs. He's still wearing a skirt. I like the whole masculine/ feminine thing- androgynous. I'm a big Tilda Swinton fan. So I, I don't have any preconceived ideas as to who would wear my jewelry. We did these big pyramid stud cuff links and these big cameo head cuff links for men and there’s a few people who bought them, but I would love to have a male clientele and create some of the things using some of these amazing crystal pieces for a guy. Camille is always telling me, oh god we need to get this jewelry on Steven Tyler, we need to get it on Mick Jagger. So I would love to find my male clientele out there. As I said earlier, a lot of the jewelry- like when I was watching the... what was that with Jonathan Rhys Myers? The King Henry the 8th movies. Anyway the jewelry. I was freeze framing the jewelry, because I was just like freaking out over the men's jewelry. Yeah- I think men should wear jewelry- big time.
CL: Well look at Marc Jacobs. He's still wearing a skirt. I like the whole masculine/ feminine thing- androgynous. I'm a big Tilda Swinton fan. So I, I don't have any preconceived ideas as to who would wear my jewelry. We did these big pyramid stud cuff links and these big cameo head cuff links for men and there’s a few people who bought them, but I would love to have a male clientele and create some of the things using some of these amazing crystal pieces for a guy. Camille is always telling me, oh god we need to get this jewelry on Steven Tyler, we need to get it on Mick Jagger. So I would love to find my male clientele out there. As I said earlier, a lot of the jewelry- like when I was watching the... what was that with Jonathan Rhys Myers? The King Henry the 8th movies. Anyway the jewelry. I was freeze framing the jewelry, because I was just like freaking out over the men's jewelry. Yeah- I think men should wear jewelry- big time.
C: If you were to pair your creation with a fashion designer's creations, which designer would you feel best complimented your style of creations?
CL: Probably right off the top of my head it would be just thrilling to do anything with like Alber Elbaz, Lanvin. I love Lanvin. But then on the flip side of it I love Oscar De La Renta. And I think some of our really feminine neck pieces and collars and things would be just fantastic with some of his designs. So I think between those two I could be very happy. C: Oscar De La Renta has beautiful style. CL: I think he's just one of the most elegant men on the planet. Madame Gres is like... he gets a lot of his draping from her things and that couldn't be more classic, its just a different kind of classic. C: I'm not familiar with Madame Gres. |
Source Image: Wikipedia
"[Madame Gres]...is known for her draping of fabrics."
-Carla Labat |
CL: Shes known for her draping of fabrics. In Paris last year there was an exhibit. She started off as a sculptress actually. Madame Gres made jewelry too but its not very well known.
C: Do you ever create pieces on commission, and if so, how would one go about contacting you for that?
CL: Yes I absolutely do. A lot of times people bring their outfit into the atelier, you know for an important event. They bring the dress in, or their potential possibilities of whatever they want to wear. Then I take out trims that I think immediately inspire me to go with that, or I'll show them a sample of something already made that could be the right style with the dress, but made with a different passementerie or rhinestone detail or whatever. Absolutely, we do that. I've done it with people who send me photographs- we can do it via email where someone will take a picture of themselves in their dress, and they send it to me in email, and I send them back possibilities via email and photographs as well. So we definitely have done that. I have people that send me their grandmothers button box. I work from that sometimes too. So yeah- absolutely and they can just email from the website. I'm happy to talk with them on the phone, Skype with them... and if they're local of course they come into the atelier by appointment.
C: Would you be willing to fly to Paris to choose specific jewels for your clients?
C: Do you ever create pieces on commission, and if so, how would one go about contacting you for that?
CL: Yes I absolutely do. A lot of times people bring their outfit into the atelier, you know for an important event. They bring the dress in, or their potential possibilities of whatever they want to wear. Then I take out trims that I think immediately inspire me to go with that, or I'll show them a sample of something already made that could be the right style with the dress, but made with a different passementerie or rhinestone detail or whatever. Absolutely, we do that. I've done it with people who send me photographs- we can do it via email where someone will take a picture of themselves in their dress, and they send it to me in email, and I send them back possibilities via email and photographs as well. So we definitely have done that. I have people that send me their grandmothers button box. I work from that sometimes too. So yeah- absolutely and they can just email from the website. I'm happy to talk with them on the phone, Skype with them... and if they're local of course they come into the atelier by appointment.
C: Would you be willing to fly to Paris to choose specific jewels for your clients?
"A lot of times people bring their outfit into the atelier, you know for an important event."
-Carla Labat
-Carla Labat
CL: Yes, of course! (Laughter) Their piece of jewelry would get really expensive if I did that. But you know... well I do actually... a lot of times someone will say, they come into the atelier, they see the designs and they think oh my god- they're so inspired. If they tell me kind of what they're looking for and they don't have a time frame, I'll say, well you know I'm going back to Paris in September. If you're not in a hurry I can keep your idea in mind and shop for you while I'm there. So yeah, I've done that before. If there’s some private client that money is no object and they just need it by like you know- right away, then, yeah for sure. If they want to fly me over to Paris and I find the stuff, it'd be thrilling to do that, I'd love to do that.
C: So someone could commission you to pick out something special and create a piece?
CL: Absolutely. I kind of do that sometimes with some of my very special clients anyway. Like anybody in life, you work with people that inspire you more than others. Some clients inspire me more than others. So, a lot of times I get something and say oh my god- this is so [my particular client]. I have to get this! I'd be really flattered if someone thought of me when they were looking at some crown jewel and they bought it for me. I always like to reach for the stars. But anyway, when anybody inspires anybody to do anything I think its amazing. Everybody moves around so fast these days and not everybody speaks about being inspired by people, but that’s a big deal for me, so yeah- I'd love to do that.
C: You seem to be quite an innovator.
CL: Well thank you for putting a name on it, I hadn't thought about it that way.□
C: So someone could commission you to pick out something special and create a piece?
CL: Absolutely. I kind of do that sometimes with some of my very special clients anyway. Like anybody in life, you work with people that inspire you more than others. Some clients inspire me more than others. So, a lot of times I get something and say oh my god- this is so [my particular client]. I have to get this! I'd be really flattered if someone thought of me when they were looking at some crown jewel and they bought it for me. I always like to reach for the stars. But anyway, when anybody inspires anybody to do anything I think its amazing. Everybody moves around so fast these days and not everybody speaks about being inspired by people, but that’s a big deal for me, so yeah- I'd love to do that.
C: You seem to be quite an innovator.
CL: Well thank you for putting a name on it, I hadn't thought about it that way.□